Free Republic

Candidate Donald J. Trump promised his administration would follow two simple rules: “Buy American and Hire American.” Monday, during the third annual Made in America Showcase at the White House, President Trump will sign the latest in a series of executive orders keeping that promise. The Buy American Act requires federal agencies to procure domestic iron, steel, and other materials and products for federal projects like airports, roads, and bridges. That’s good policy for at least three reasons Buy American federal procurement rules provide good manufacturing jobs at good wages, propelling more workers into middle-class prosperity. In addition, about 20...

Toyota Motor Corp. said Wednesday that its exports to the U.S. rose 22% in April, highlighting the problem it faces if the Trump administration makes good on threats to impose higher tariffs on imports. The problem is crystallized in one model: the RAV4 sport-utility vehicle. It is the most popular Toyota among American consumers—and none are made in the U.S. More than half are imported from Japan, while the rest are made in Canada and imported tariff-free under the North American Free Trade Agreement.

It's "Made In America" week in Washington, D.C. You'd think this would be cause for bipartisan celebration. Who could be against highlighting the ingenuity, self-reliance and success of our nation's homegrown entrepreneurs and manufacturers? Enter Bill Kristol. The entrenched Beltway pundit ridiculed a festive kickoff event on Monday at the White House, where President Donald Trump hosted companies from all 50 states to showcased their American-made products. "Maybe it's just me," killjoy Kristol tweeted, "but I find something off-putting about turning the White House into an exhibition hall for American tchotchkes." (That's the Yiddish word for useless trinkets). "Tchotchkes"? Tell...

President Trump pushes products "Made in the USA" What happened? High wages, Environmental regulations, Welfare freebies etc. List of companies making grommet products"Made in the USA" https://www.thegrommet.com/made-in-the-usa

FORT WORTH — Lockheed Martin will be interviewing at least 2,000 people for jobs next week — with some people being offered employment “on the spot” — as part of the buildup of F-35 production at its Fort Worth plant. Lockheed already has cleared about 1,900 applicants who pre-registered through social media for interviews, but anyone who thinks they may be qualified for one of the jobs, especially in manufacturing, can come to the Sheraton Fort Worth Downtown Hotel on Tuesday. The event opens at 7 a.m. “We’re really ramping up the activity to do this hiring. This is new...

A Bowie, Texas, company has made cowboy hats for famous personalities and now they have made a beaver belly fur and mink one for President-elect Donald Trump. The hat is adorned with a gold and diamond trim hat band and has a silverish tone, as reported by the Wichita Falls Times-Record News. The publication reported that Trump noticed Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller’s hat and was introduced to the American Hat Company. Treasure Maddox, the daughter of the hat company owners and her friend Andrew Graves are acquaintances of Trump’s son, Eric. Eric Trump asked the hat company if they...

The vast majority of Americans say they prefer lower prices instead of paying a premium for items labeled “Made in the U.S.A.,” even if it means those cheaper items are made abroad, according to an Associated Press-GfK poll. While presidential candidates like Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders are vowing to bring back millions of American jobs lost to China and other foreign competitors, public sentiment reflects core challenges confronting the U.S. economy. Incomes have barely improved, forcing many households to look for the most convenient bargains instead of goods made in America. Employers now seek workers with college degrees, leaving...

Later this year along the banks of the James River outside Richmond, Virginia, a paper products maker based in northeastern China will begin construction on a new U.S. manufacturing plant. The factory will churn the region's straw and corn stalks into household products including napkins, tissue and organic fertilizer—all marked "Made in the USA." Shandong Tranlin Paper's new U.S. factory is forecast to generate about 2,000 new jobs by 2020, and is the latest Chinese company to invest in American manufacturing. Chinese foreign direct investment in the U.S. totaled $12 billion last year, topping $10 billion for the second year...

When It Comes to Solar, Buy American By Brandon Workman |May 3, 2014 CAPS Rating 4/5 Stars $72.15 $0.95 (1.33%)   Last week, the Cleantech Group and Heslin Rothenberg Farley & Mesiti P.C. co-released their 2013 Clean Energy Patent Growth Index, which tracks clean energy patents issued by the United States Patent and Trademark Office. The index is meant to depict a trajectory of innovative activity in the clean energy sector. Among its highlights:  Solar, with 965 patents, was the No. 1 technology, overtaking fuel cells. And each year, the technology commands a greater share of patent activity: Image credit: Clean Energy Patent...

A bit more good news for American manufacturing as Whirlpool announced it would move its commercial washing-machine production from Mexico to the United States. According to a press release, Whirlpool will shift production of its commercial front-load machines from Monterrey, Mexico to Clyde, Ohio. At 2.4 million square feet, the Clyde plant is the largest washing-machine factory in the world. Operations are due to begin in April, 2014. The Wall Street Journal first reported the story. Whirlpool said the relocation will make the company more efficient, since 90% of the commercial machines are sold in the U.S. (the rest are...

As you finish up your holiday shopping this year, you might be feeling the desire to buy American-made products. Any number of things claim to be made in the USA, but that label itself is not an absolute guarantee that what you’re buying was indeed produced stateside. While there are federal standards for what qualifies as “Made in America,” there is no vetting or certification process that goes on before that label can be applied. So a company could slap a made-in-USA sticker on its products and hope it doesn’t get caught, much like E.K. Ekcessories, an outdoor accessories company...

For much of the past decade, General Electric’s storied Appliance Park, in Louisville, Kentucky, appeared less like a monument to American manufacturing prowess than a memorial to it. The very scale of the place seemed to underscore its irrelevance. Six factory buildings, each one the size of a large suburban shopping mall, line up neatly in a row. The parking lot in front of them measures a mile long and has its own traffic lights, built to control the chaos that once accompanied shift change. But in 2011, Appliance Park employed not even a tenth of the people it did...

I think it’s time we all started REALLY supporting our OWN country in whatever way we can, I DIDN'T KNOW HALLMARK CARDS WERE MADE IN CHINA ! That is also why Idon't buy cards at Hallmark anymore, They are made in China and are more expensive! I buy them at Dollar Tree - 50 cents each and made inUSA I have been looking at the blenders available on the Internet. Kitchen Aid is MADE IN the US. Top of my list already... Yesterday I was in Wal Mart looking for a wastebasket. I found some made in China for $6.99....

Jason Mattera, author of the brand-new book Hollywood Hypocrites: The Devastating Truth About Obama's Biggest Backers, recently interviewed the founder of American Love Affair, and here is an excerpt: “I wanted to create a website that only sells American-made apparel and accessories because, at the end of the day, it’s my tribute to the country that has given me life, liberty, and opportunity,” she told HUMAN EVENTS. “The greatest compliment I could be paid is to be called a patriot."

An analysis just released by the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco concludes that most of what Americans spend on consumer goods, electronics, clothing, sneakers and the like, stays in America. Surprisingly little comes from China after all. Say the authors: Goods and services from China accounted for only 2.7% of U.S. personal consumption expenditures (PCE) in 2010…Chinese imports make up only a small share of total U.S. consumer spending… Athough globalization is widely recognized these days, the U.S. economy actually remains relatively closed. The vast majority of goods and services sold in the United States is produced here. In...

IN ECONOMICS AS IN APPAREL, most fashions come and go. But like the navy blazer or the little black dress, bewailing the decline of American manufacturing never seems to go out of style. They're closing down the textile mill across the railroad tracksForeman says these jobs are going boys and they ain't coming back. So sang Bruce Springsteen in "My Hometown," a hit song from his 1984 album, "Born in the U.S.A.". More than a quarter-century later, that sentiment (if not the song) is as popular as ever."You know, we don't manufacture anything anymore in this country," says Donald Trump...

In just a month since its official launch, a new Web site MadeInUSA has signed up more than 350,000 U.S.-based companies looking to encourage consumers to "be American and buy American." Creators of the site hope to ensure that as many jobs as possible stay in the U.S. rather than be outsourced overseas. For 50 years now, Mountain and Sackett, a tie manufacturer with a plant in Long Island City, N.Y., has made ties mostly by hand. Some 50 employees, some who have been with the company for decades, stitch meticulously for 40 hours a week. They get health care...

Earlier today, Doug Bandow weighed in with some commentary on the problems that Buy American provisions are creating for both Canadian and American businesses. Let me reinforce his view that such rules are anachronistic and self-defeating with some thoughts from a forthcoming paper of mine about the incongruity between modern commercial reality and trade policies that have failed to keep pace. Even though President Obama implored, “If you are considering buying a car, I hope it will be an American car,” it is nearly impossible to determine objectively what makes an American car. The auto industry provides a famous example,...

> Yet Fiesta's enduring popularity and strong sales even as consumers cut back are helping to keep struggling Homer Laughlin China Co. afloat. It's the last major dinnerware producer that makes its products in the U.S., as competitors have shut down or moved offshore. >

Five words would change law, have big impact on ocean carriers and shippers All U.S.-flag ships in international commerce would have to be built in the United States if language approved July 9 by the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee becomes law. Shippers of government-impelled cargo such as food aid, project or military cargo that require U.S. flag vessels for transport would likely incur higher rates. Experts said it would be impossible to calculate how much, but owners would have to recover the higher relative cost of building a ship in the U.S. The change — spelled out in...